Nepal “must” be provided a mechanism for exchanging high-value Indian currency notes that were in circulation before demonetisation, the country’s Ambassador Deep Kumar Upadhyay said on Tuesday. He said there were several rounds of discussions between the central banks of the two countries to resolve the issues arising out of the decision, following which an understanding was “almost reached”.

“There was almost a kind of understanding that they will provide a window just for the exchange of currency notes which Nepali people are holding.

“From the Nepal side, the request was Rs 25,000 for each account and from the Indian side, it was to go for Rs 4,500 each exchange,” he told reporters during an interaction at the Foreign Correspondents Club here.

Upadhyay explained that nearly every family residing in the hilly regions of Nepal has a member employed in some part of India. “There are pensioners, also almost every family has a member in India. During festive seasons, when they return they take money for needs that may be nedical…It is my moral obligation. Some kind of a window Nepal must get,” he said.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced in March that Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would set up a modality of exchange and settle the related issues soon. The Indian currency is widely used in Nepal for day-to-day transactions, especially in the border areas. Also, Nepalese citizens working in India send remittances to their families in Nepal in higher denomination notes. Nepal, a landlocked country, depends on India for trade and supplies.